Cara Stables Horse Boarding & Lessons

Cara Stables Horse Boarding & Lessons Equestrian facility - heated arena
Grass & Sand outdoor rings
Boarding
Lessons
Training
Summer camps
Jumping Dressage & Western
School horse Lessons

Horse Boarding
Show Horses for sale or lease
Equestrian facility - heated arena
Grass & Sand outdoor rings
Lessons
Training
Summer camps
Jumping Dressage & Western
Saddle Seat, cowboy challenge
School horse Lessons

Movement is everything !!
11/05/2024

Movement is everything !!

How a horse is put together is called Conformation. This term comes from the word "conform". Many people confuse this word with "confirmation", but we are not looking to confirm anything here. We want a horse to conform to an ideal body type for the kind of horse we want for what the horse will do.

The left image is my idea of an ideal polo horse. The red line across the top of the back might be considered short for a jumper or saddle seat horse, but for polo a short back translates to increased agility for polo.

The purple line at the shoulder shows the slope of the shoulder, which in this horse is nicely sloped. This indicates greater ability to reach with the forehand and that means more speed. A steep slope of the shoulder like this might not be desirable for a draft horse that does not need speed, but rather needs more power to the ground with their forehand in order to pull a heavy load.

The two yellow lines indicate the length of the leg and when compared to the lower red line, the proportion of legs compared with the length of the barrel might be a little long for some people. But for polo this would be good because longer legs mean a longer stride and more speed.

The horse's conformation on the right is not ideal for polo. The shorter legs in relation to the longer back are not ideal for speed and agility. I would consider this horse's conformation ideal for an all-arounder horse with substantial versatility. Compared to the more specialized conformation of the polo horse, this black horse can potentially be good at many different equestrian pursuits.

This horse with versatile conformation at liberty in a pasture allows for its light movement. We see ample hind reach and forehand extension. The result is a nicely centered balance indicated by the yellow line. This whole picture of movement in this horse shows "self carriage", meaning the horse is carrying itself in centered balance, not heavy on the forehand or off balance in any way.

No matter what type of horse you are seeking for whatever purpose, I think a horse must have conformation that allows the horse to achieve this kind of light self carriage. There are horses with disproportionate ratios of the elements of conformation discussed here. These horses' legs might be too short, the back too long, the shoulders too straight and more so as to prevent or impede self carriage. This cannot be fixed, so these kinds of conformation flaws are to be avoided, which is why we study conformation.

How a horse is put together matters. The color of the coat, for example, does not matter in terms of movement and balance, yet for some riders, color is their most important criteria for selecting a horse. This makes no sense to me. Learning the variations of equine body form is the study of ratios and proportions and it is called conformation. learn it.

10/31/2024
09/02/2024
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08/20/2024

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too cute ❤️
07/16/2024

too cute ❤️

Great photography ❤️

06/21/2024

region 17 volunteers
we need you

We need everyone to cover a session
yes everyone 😃

Laurie Mostowich is the lead contact for volunteers 403-615-1096

Thank you in advance for chipping in to make this a fabulous horse show !!!

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06/11/2024

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Louie Lamb got a haircut today
06/04/2024

Louie Lamb got a haircut today

06/03/2024

Super cool horse & ppl who love him
❤️❤️❤️

happy Friday, beautiful people❤️❤️
05/31/2024

happy Friday, beautiful people
❤️❤️

Address

48251 Highway 552 East
Calgary, AB

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 9pm
Tuesday 8am - 9pm
Wednesday 8am - 9pm
Thursday 8am - 9pm
Friday 8am - 9pm
Saturday 8am - 9pm
Sunday 8am - 9pm

Telephone

+14038602527

Website

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